Police officer fined for lying about car crash

An Abbotsford man who is an RCMP officer in Surrey has been fined $2,500 for lying to ICBC about how he crashed his pickup truck in Cloverdale two years ago.

James Steven Baker was convicted last month of providing false or misleading information related to the crash that took place Dec. 10, 2013. His sentencing was last Friday (Nov. 20) in Abbotsford provincial court.

According to the written judgment when he was convicted, Baker was driving his black Dodge Ram pickup on 64 Avenue at about 5:35 a.m. when the incident occurred.

Baker claimed he was struck by another vehicle before he fishtailed into a ditch, but the Crown argued that the crash involved only Baker’s truck and resulted from him driving too fast for the winter road conditions.

A City of Surrey salt truck driver testified that no other vehicle was involved. The driver stated that Baker’s truck had passed him on a median on the left and lost control when he tried to merge back into the right lane.

Further evidence showed that there was no damage to the left side of Baker’s vehicle and the damage that did exist wasn’t consistent with being struck by a car cutting across its path from the left side, as the accused had suggested.